Machine-To-Machine (M2M) Interface Procedures For Announce and De-Announce of Resources

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed to propagate announcement and de-announcement of a resource across one or more networks. A first entity, which may be a hosting service capability layer (SCL), may receive a request from an issuer to announce a resource. The first entity may create a representation of the resource. The representation may be referred to as an announced resource. The first entity may send an announce resource request to a second entity (e.g., an announced-to SCL), which may be registered with the first entity. The announce resource request may be sent over an mid interface. The first entity may receive a first response from the second entity over the mid interface indicating that the second entity created the announced resource.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/415,460, filed on Nov. 19, 2010 and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/431,212, filed on Jan. 10, 2011, the contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

M2M communication may refer to inter-machine communication wherein humanintervention may be unnecessary. M2M communication has been incorporatedinto various applications already and is expected to play a role inseveral future applications as well. Some examples of such applicationsinclude smart metering, home automation, eHealth, and fleet management.

M2M communication may be carried out by machine type communication (MTC)entities. Examples of MTC entities may include: an MTC device, an MTCserver, an MTC user, an MTC subscriber, etc. An example of an MTC devicemay be a user equipment (UE) equipped for MTC communication. An exampleof an MTC server may be an entity that communicates with one or more MTCdevices through a network. An example of an MTC subscriber may be aservice provider providing M2M service to one or more MTC users. The MTCserver may operate as an interface between the network and an MTC user.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription of Illustrative Embodiments. This Summary is not intended toidentify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter.

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed to propagateannouncement of a resource across one or more networks. A first entity,which may be a hosting service capability layer (SCL), may receive arequest from an issuer to announce a resource. For example, the issuermay send the request to the first entity in order to announce resourcesto other SCL's. The first entity may create a representation of theresource. The representation may be referred to as an announcedresource. The announced resource may include one or more of thefollowing: a search string, an attribute, or a URI of the resource uponwhich the representation is based. The first entity may send an announceresource request to a second entity (e.g., an announced-to SCL), whichmay be registered with the first entity. The announce resource requestmay be sent over an mId interface. The first entity may receive a firstresponse from the second entity over the mId interface indicating thatthe second entity created the announced resource.

The first entity may determine that the second entity is an entity toannounce to based on accessibility of the resource. The first entity maypost the announced resource to the second entity under a known UniformResource Identifier (URI). The first entity may send a second responseto the issuer indicating that the second entity created the announcedresource (e.g., after receiving the first response). The first entitymay determine a plurality of SCL's to announce to. The first entity maybe connected to many SCL's and may choose the plurality as a subset ofthe many SCL's based on security restraints, access control, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1A is a system diagram of an example communications system in whichone or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated inFIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a system diagram of an example radio access network and anexample core network that may be used within the communications systemillustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a system diagram of an another example radio access networkand an another example core network that may be used within thecommunications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1E is a system diagram of an another example radio access networkand an another example core network that may be used within thecommunications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary end-to-end M2M system architecture;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary service capabilities functionalarchitecture framework;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary announced resource structure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary call flow to announce resources;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary call flow to access announced resourcesin a synchronous manner;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary call flow to access announced resourcesin an asynchronous manner;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary call flow to de-announce resources;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary resource structure to store an announcedapplication resource;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary resource structure to storeannounced-to resources;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary call flow to announce resources;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary call flow to propagate an announcedresource;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary call flow to propagate an announcedresource;

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary call flow to update an announcedresource; and

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary call flow to de-announce resources.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

A detailed description of illustrative embodiments may now be describedwith reference to the Figures. However, while the present invention maybe described in connection with exemplary embodiments, it is not limitedthereto and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be used ormodifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments forperforming the same function of the present invention without deviatingtherefrom. In addition, the figures may illustrate call flows, which aremeant to be exemplary. It is to be understood that other embodiments maybe used. The order of the flows may be varied where appropriate. Also,flows may be omitted if not needed and additional flows may be added.

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example communications system 100 in whichone or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communicationssystem 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, suchas voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wirelessusers. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless usersto access such content through the sharing of system resources,including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrierFDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wirelesstransmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, and/or 102 d (whichgenerally or collectively may be referred to as WTRU 102), a radioaccess network (RAN) 103/104/105, a core network 106/107/109, a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and othernetworks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosedembodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks,and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 dmay be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in awireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c,102 d may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals andmay include user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobilesubscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer,a wireless sensor, consumer electronics, and the like.

The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114 a anda base station 114 b. Each of the base stations 114 a, 114 b may be anytype of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one ofthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d to facilitate access to one or morecommunication networks, such as the core network 106/107/109, theInternet 110, and/or the networks 112. By way of example, the basestations 114 a, 114 b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B,an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, an accesspoint (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114 b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciatedthat the base stations 114 a, 114 b may include any number ofinterconnected base stations and/or network elements.

The base station 114 a may be part of the RAN 103/104/105, which mayalso include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown),such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller(RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114 a and/or the base station114 b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signalswithin a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as acell (not shown). The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. Forexample, the cell associated with the base station 114 a may be dividedinto three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114 a mayinclude three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. Inanother embodiment, the base station 114 a may employ multiple-inputmultiple output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multipletransceivers for each sector of the cell.

The base stations 114 a, 114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d over an air interface 115/116/117,which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radiofrequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visiblelight, etc.). The air interface 115/116/117 may be established using anysuitable radio access technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 114 a in the RAN 103/104/105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102 b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA),which may establish the air interface 115/116/117 using wideband CDMA(WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-SpeedPacket Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may includeHigh-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed UplinkPacket Access (HSUPA).

In another embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface115/116/117 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

In other embodiments, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (i.e.,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000,CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), InterimStandard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System forMobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114 b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B,Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitableRAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such asa place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In oneembodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d mayimplement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN). In another embodiment, the base station 114 band the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yetanother embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 dmay utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE,LTE-A, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A,the base station 114 b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110.Thus, the base station 114 b may not be required to access the Internet110 via the core network 106/107/109.

The RAN 103/104/105 may be in communication with the core network106/107/109, which may be any type of network configured to providevoice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP)services to one or more of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d. Forexample, the core network 106/107/109 may provide call control, billingservices, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internetconnectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-levelsecurity functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown inFIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 103/104/105 and/or the corenetwork 106/107/109 may be in direct or indirect communication withother RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 103/104/105 or adifferent RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN103/104/105, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology, the corenetwork 106/107/109 may also be in communication with another RAN (notshown) employing a GSM radio technology.

The core network 106/107/109 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110,and/or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switchedtelephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). TheInternet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computernetworks and devices that use common communication protocols, such asthe transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP)and the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite.The networks 112 may include wired or wireless communications networksowned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, thenetworks 112 may include another core network connected to one or moreRANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 103/104/105 or adifferent RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d in thecommunications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities, i.e., theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may include multiple transceivers forcommunicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks. For example, the WTRU 102 c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured tocommunicate with the base station 114 a, which may employ acellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114 b, whichmay employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B,the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, atransmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, adisplay/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, apower source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, andother peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayinclude any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remainingconsistent with an embodiment. Also, embodiments contemplate that thebase stations 114 a and 114 b, and/or the nodes that base stations 114 aand 114 b may represent, such as but not limited to transceiver station(BTS), a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a home node-B,an evolved home node-B (eNodeB), a home evolved node-B (HeNB), a homeevolved node-B gateway, and proxy nodes, among others, may include someor all of the elements depicted in FIG. 1B and described herein.

The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120,which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1Bdepicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separatecomponents, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and thetransceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 115/116/117. For example, in one embodiment,the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured totransmit and/or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, thetransmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured totransmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example.In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may beconfigured to transmit and receive both RF and light signals. It will beappreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

In addition, although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted inFIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number oftransmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 mayemploy MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 mayinclude two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multipleantennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the airinterface 115/116/117.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/orthe display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) displayunit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 mayaccess information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory,such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132.The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storagedevice. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identitymodule (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card,and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may accessinformation from, and store data in, memory that is not physicallylocated on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (notshown).

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 mayinclude one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which maybe configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU102 may receive location information over the air interface 115/116/117from a base station (e.g., base stations 114 a, 114 b) and/or determineits location based on the timing of the signals being received from twoor more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102may acquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, whichmay include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provideadditional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, and the like.

FIG. 1C is a system diagram of the RAN 103 and the core network 106according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 103 may employ aUTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cover the air interface 115. The RAN 103 may also be in communicationwith the core network 106. As shown in FIG. 1C, the RAN 103 may includeNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c, which may each include one or moretransceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c overthe air interface 115. The Node-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c may each beassociated with a particular cell (not shown) within the RAN 103. TheRAN 103 may also include RNCs 142 a, 142 b. It will be appreciated thatthe RAN 103 may include any number of Node-Bs and RNCs while remainingconsistent with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the Node-Bs 140 a, 140 b may be in communicationwith the RNC 142 a. Additionally, the Node-B 140 c may be incommunication with the RNC142 b. The Node-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c maycommunicate with the respective RNCs 142 a, 142 b via an Iub interface.The RNCs 142 a, 142 b may be in communication with one another via anIur interface. Each of the RNCs 142 a, 142 b may be configured tocontrol the respective Node-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c to which it isconnected. In addition, each of the RNCs 142 a, 142 b may be configuredto carry out or support other functionality, such as outer loop powercontrol, load control, admission control, packet scheduling, handovercontrol, macrodiversity, security functions, data encryption, and thelike.

The core network 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a media gateway (MGW)144, a mobile switching center (MSC) 146, a serving GPRS support node(SGSN) 148, and/or a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 150. While each ofthe foregoing elements are depicted as part of the core network 106, itwill be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and/oroperated by an entity other than the core network operator.

The RNC 142 a in the RAN 103 may be connected to the MSC 146 in the corenetwork 106 via an IuCS interface. The MSC 146 may be connected to theMGW 144. The MSC 146 and the MGW 144 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, tofacilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c andtraditional land-line communications devices.

The RNC 142 a in the RAN 103 may also be connected to the SGSN 148 inthe core network 106 via an IuPS interface. The SGSN 148 may beconnected to the GGSN 150. The SGSN 148 and the GGSN 150 may provide theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, suchas the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between and the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c and IP-enabled devices.

As noted above, the core network 106 may also be connected to thenetworks 112, which may include other wired or wireless networks thatare owned and/or operated by other service providers.

FIG. 1D is a system diagram of the RAN 104 and the core network 107according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ anE-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communicationwith the core network 107.

The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may implement MIMO technology. Thus,the eNode-B 160 a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmitwireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102 a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the uplink and/or downlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1D, theeNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may communicate with one another over an X2interface.

The core network 107 shown in FIG. 1D may include a mobility managementgateway (MME) 162, a serving gateway 164, and a packet data network(PDN) gateway 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted aspart of the core network 107, it will be appreciated that any one ofthese elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than thecore network operator.

The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 cin the RAN 104 via an Si interface and may serve as a control node. Forexample, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting aparticular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, and the like. The MME 162 may also provide a control planefunction for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown)that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

The serving gateway 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160 a,160 b, 160 c in the RAN 104 via the Si interface. The serving gateway164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c. The serving gateway 164 may also perform otherfunctions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers,triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c, and the like.

The serving gateway 164 may also be connected to the PDN gateway 166,which may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access topacket-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and IP-enableddevices.

The core network 107 may facilitate communications with other networks.For example, the core network 107 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, tofacilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c andtraditional land-line communications devices. For example, the corenetwork 107 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g.,an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interfacebetween the core network 107 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the corenetwork 107 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to thenetworks 112, which may include other wired or wireless networks thatare owned and/or operated by other service providers.

FIG. 1E is a system diagram of the RAN 105 and the core network 109according to an embodiment. The RAN 105 may be an access service network(ASN) that employs IEEE 802.16 radio technology to communicate with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 117. As will be furtherdiscussed below, the communication links between the differentfunctional entities of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, the RAN 105, andthe core network 109 may be defined as reference points.

As shown in FIG. 1E, the RAN 105 may include base stations 180 a, 180 b,180 c, and an ASN gateway 182, though it will be appreciated that theRAN 105 may include any number of base stations and ASN gateways whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The base stations 180 a, 180 b,180 c may each be associated with a particular cell (not shown) in theRAN 105 and may each include one or more transceivers for communicatingwith the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 117. In oneembodiment, the base stations 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may implement MIMOtechnology. Thus, the base station 180 a, for example, may use multipleantennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signalsfrom, the WTRU 102 a. The base stations 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may alsoprovide mobility management functions, such as handoff triggering,tunnel establishment, radio resource management, traffic classification,quality of service (QoS) policy enforcement, and the like. The ASNgateway 182 may serve as a traffic aggregation point and may beresponsible for paging, caching of subscriber profiles, routing to thecore network 109, and the like.

The air interface 117 between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and the RAN105 may be defined as an R1 reference point that implements the IEEE802.16 specification. In addition, each of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cmay establish a logical interface (not shown) with the core network 109.The logical interface between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and the corenetwork 109 may be defined as an R2 reference point, which may be usedfor authentication, authorization, IP host configuration management,and/or mobility management.

The communication link between each of the base stations 180 a, 180 b,180 c may be defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocolsfor facilitating WTRU handovers and the transfer of data between basestations. The communication link between the base stations 180 a, 180 b,180 c and the ASN gateway 182 may be defined as an R6 reference point.The R6 reference point may include protocols for facilitating mobilitymanagement based on mobility events associated with each of the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c.

As shown in FIG. 1E, the RAN 105 may be connected to the core network109. The communication link between the RAN 105 and the core network 109may defined as an R3 reference point that includes protocols forfacilitating data transfer and mobility management capabilities, forexample. The core network 109 may include a mobile IP home agent(MIP-HA) 184, an authentication, authorization, accounting (AAA) server186, and a gateway 188. While each of the foregoing elements aredepicted as part of the core network 109, it will be appreciated thatany one of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entityother than the core network operator.

The MIP-HA may be responsible for IP address management, and may enablethe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c to roam between different ASNs and/ordifferent core networks. The MIP-HA 184 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cand IP-enabled devices. The AAA server 186 may be responsible for userauthentication and for supporting user services. The gateway 188 mayfacilitate interworking with other networks. For example, the gateway188 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access tocircuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and traditionalland-line communications devices. In addition, the gateway 188 mayprovide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to the networks 112,which may include other wired or wireless networks that are owned and/oroperated by other service providers.

Although not shown in FIG. 1E, it will be appreciated that the RAN 105may be connected to other ASNs and the core network 109 may be connectedto other core networks. The communication link between the RAN 105 theother ASNs may be defined as an R4 reference point, which may includeprotocols for coordinating the mobility of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cbetween the RAN 105 and the other ASNs. The communication link betweenthe core network 109 and the other core networks may be defined as an R5reference, which may include protocols for facilitating interworkingbetween home core networks and visited core networks.

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed to propagateannouncement of a resource across one or more networks. A first entity,which may be a hosting service capability layer (SCL), may receive arequest from an issuer to announce a resource. For example, the issuermay send the request to the first entity in order to announce resourcesto other SCL's. The first entity may create a representation of theresource. The representation may be referred to as an announcedresource. The announced resource may include one or more of thefollowing: a search string, an attribute, or a URI of the resource uponwhich the representation is based. The first entity may send an announceresource request to a second entity (e.g., an announced-to SCL), whichmay be registered with the first entity. The announce resource requestmay be sent over an mId interface. The first entity may receive a firstresponse from the second entity over the mId interface indicating thatthe second entity created the resource.

The first entity may determine that the second entity is an entity toannounce to based on accessibility of the resource. The first entity maypost the resource to the second entity under a known Uniform ResourceIdentifier (URI). The first entity may send a second response to theissuer indicating that the second entity created the resource (e.g.,after receiving the first response). The first entity may determine aplurality of SCL's to announce to. The first entity may be connected tomany SCL's and may choose the plurality as a subset of the many SCL'sbased on security restraints, access control, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary end-to-end M2M system architecture. TheM2M system architecture may include an M2M device domain, as well as anetwork and applications domain.

The M2M device domain may include one or more of the following: an M2MDevice, an M2M Area Network, or an M2M Gateway. An M2M Device may be adevice that runs M2M Application(s) using M2M Service Capabilities (SCs)and network domain functions. M2M Devices may connect to the M2M Coredirectly or indirectly via one or multiple (sequential or parallel)gateways. An M2M Area Network may provide connectivity between M2MDevices and M2M Gateways. Examples of M2M Area Networks may includePersonal Area Network technologies, e.g., IEEE 802.15.x, Zigbee,Bluetooth, IETF ROLL, ISA100.11a, and the like. An M2M Gateway may useM2M Service Capabilities to ensure M2M Devices interworking andinterconnection to the network and application domain. The M2M Gatewaymay also run M2Mapplications.

The network and application domain may include one or more of thefollowing: an Access Network, a Transport Network, or an M2M Core. AnAccess Network may allow the M2M Device Domain to communicate with theCore Network. Examples of Access Networks may include one or more of thefollowing: xDSL, HFC, PLC, satellite, GERAN, UTRAN, eUTRAN, W-LAN, orWiMAX. A Transport Network may allow transport of data within thenetwork and application domain. An M2M Core may be composed of a CoreNetwork and Service Capabilities. The Core Network may provide one ormore of the following: IP connectivity and potentially otherconnectivity means; service and network control functions;interconnection (e.g., with other networks); or roaming. Examples ofCore Networks may include one or more of the following: 3GPP CNs, ETSITISPAN CN, or 3GPP2 CN. Examples of M2M Service Capabilities (SCs) maybe include one or more of the following: a Network ApplicationEnablement (NAE) capability; a Network Generic Communication (NGC)capability; a Network Reachability, Addressing and Repository (NRAR)capability; a Network Communication Selection (NCS) capability; aNetwork Remote Entity Management (NREM) capability; a Network Security(NSEC) capability; a Network History and Data Retention (NHDR)capability; a Network Transaction Management (NTM) capability; a NetworkInterworking Proxy (NIP) capability; or, aNetwork Telcom OperatorExposure (NTOE) capability.

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed relating to M2Minterface procedures for announce and de-announce of resources.Exemplary resources may include, but are not limited to, smart meters,including data collected from smart meters, and medical equipment (e.g.,blood pressure monitoring equipment). FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplaryblock diagram of a service capabilities functional architectureframework that may be utilized in accordance with embodiments disclosedherein. Referring to FIG. 3, gateway (G) may be an ETSI M2M device tomanage M2M area networks of ETSI M2M devices. The gateway maycommunicate with an ETSI M2M core network. Device (D) may be an ETSI M2Mdevice that may communicate to an ETSI M2M core network or to an ETSIM2M gateway. Device′ (D′) may be an ETSI M2M device that does notimplement ETSI M2M Service Capabilities. Device′ (D′) may interactindirectly with the M2M Core via the use of Service Capabilities in theM2M Gateway (G). Gateway′ (G′) may be an ETSI M2M Gateway that providesconnectivity to both D and D′ devices. There may be a non-ETSI M2Mcompliant device (d′) belonging to an area network managed by an ETSIM2M compliant Device or Gateway entities. Device d may not be able toaccess M2M service capabilities directly.

Announced resources may be resources that are used by the M2M servicecapability later (SCL) in which these announced resources are hosted tokeep track of remote (announcing) resources (e.g., resources living in aremote SCL) that may be discoverable in this SCL. Announced resourcesmay comprise a link to the announcing resource. An announced resource'svisibility may be limited to when it is accessed via its full URL. Inother cases, e.g., during discovery and during listing the parentcollection resource, a direct reference to the remote/announcingresource may be returned. There may be a containment relation betweenthe collection resource and the announced resource, e.g., when thecollection is removed, the contained resources may be removed as well,whether they represent local resources or announced resources. In suchcase, the announcing resource (the resource to which the announcedresource refers) may not be removed. When the announcing resource isremoved, it may be the responsibility of the remote SCL to remove theannounced resource. If this is not done, there may be a certain timethat a discovery can give a reference to a non-existing remote resource.

There may be different kinds of announced resources, e.g., since theannounced resources may share the same child collection resources as theresource they represent. The latter allows for explicit creation ofchild resources (e.g., groups, access rights, containers, etc.) asdescendants of the announced resource. Since this may be a normalcontainment relation, such child resource may be removed when theannounced resource is removed (e.g., when the remote resource isde-announced).

An entity may be an SCL or an application. An issuer may be an actorperforming a request, e.g., relating to an announced resource. An issuermay be an application or a SCL. An announced resource, which may bereferred to as a mirrored resource, may have content that refers to aresource hosted by another SCL (e.g., a master/original resource). Theannounced resource is an actual resource that may comprise a limited setof attributes, e.g., search strings, the link to the original resource(e.g., URI), etc. A purpose of the announced resource may be tofacilitate a discovery of the original resource, so that the issuer ofthe discovery does not have to contact many SCLs in order to find theresource.

A Local (e.g., Registration) SCL may be an SCL where an application/SCLregisters to. The local SCL may be an SCL that receives the request fromthe original issuer of the request (e.g., an application or an SCL). Ifan NA is the original issuer, the Local SCL may be the N-SCL. Further,if a GA is the original issuer, the Local SCL may be the G-SCL. If a DAin a D device is the original issuer, the Local SCL may be the D-SCL. Ifa DA in a D′ device is the original issuer, the Local SCL may be theG-SCL. If a D-SCL in a D device is the original issuer, the Local SCLmay be the G-SCL or N-SCL. If a G-SCL is the original issuer, the LocalSCL may be the N-SCL.

The hosting SCL may be the SCL where the addressed (e.g., actual)resource resides. An announced-to SCL may be an SCL that comprises theannounced resource. A resource may be announced to multiple SCLs. In thecontext of resource discovery, a “link” may be an “URI” or a “collectionof attributed resource references.”

Resources may be stored at different SCLs. To reduce duplication ofresources, as well as resource discovery time, an actual resource may bestored at one SCL and a representation of the actual resource or copiesstored at other SCLs. The announce procedure may be used for an SCL topropagate its resource representations or resources to other SCLs. Thede-announce procedure may be used for an SCL to remove a previouslypropagated resource from other SCLs.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary announced resource structure. Theannounced resource may be a representation of an actual resource. Aresource type identifier may be used to identify that a resource is anannounced resource.

An announced resource may comprise one or multiple SearchStrings. ASearchString may be used to match a search string in an access request.A SearchString may be a human-readable name of a resource, texts fromthe resource, etc.

As shown in the example of FIG. 4, an announced resource may compriseone or multiple attributes. Examples of attributes may include one ormore of the following: accessibility (READ/WRITE), lifetime (e.g., avalue that indicate how long the announced resource should be valid),size of the resource, or media type. An announced resource may beannounced (e.g., by a hosting SCL), for example, as “broadcast”“muiticast” or “unicast.” Broadcast may indicate that the resource maybe announced to any SCL or application. Multicast may indicate thatresource announcement may be limited to a group of allowed SCLs and/orapplications. Unicast may indicate that the resource announcement may belimited to a specific SCL or application. The original resourceAccessRights may be inherited from the original resource.

Some attributes may be searchable so they may be used as SearchString.When referring to a resource residing on another SCL, the content of theAnnounced Resource may comprise the URI of the resource.

An entity (e.g., an issuer) may announce a resource(s) to otherentities, such as SCLs. This may include a first/initial announcementand subsequent updates. An issuer may be an application or an SCL thatmay request to announce its available resources to other SCLs. Thetrigger of the announce procedure may include one or more of thefollowing: initialization of a hosting SCL, creation of a newresource(s), update of a resource(s), hosting SCL found a new SCL, etc.The issuer may announce resources periodically. When an applicationcreates or updates a resource, the application may indicate if theresource can be announced based on how the application wants theresource to be visible. The application may indicate how therepresentation of the resources should be configured.

Based on the request from the issuer, the hosting SCL may announce theresource, e.g., to other SCLs, in the form of an announced resource. Theissuer of the announce procedure may be the hosting SCL itself. TheHosting SCL may form a representation of the resource (e.g., create anannounced resource as illustrated in FIG. 5) and send an “announceresource” request to the targeted SCL(s). The Hosting-SCL may decidewhich target SCL(s) it should announce to according to the resource'saccessibility. Unless an announced resource can be broadcast, theannounced-to SCL may need to have been registered with the Hosting SCL.Due to reasons such as security and access control, the hosting-SCL maybe limited to which SCL(s) it may announce to (e.g., it may not announceto all SCLs that it is connected to). The Announced-to SCL may createthe announced resource locally.

An SCL may post the announced resources to another SCL under a known URI(e.g., as part of the announce procedure). The issuer (e.g., applicationor SCL) may perform a GET to /.known/ to an SCL to retrieve availableannounced resources. For example, CoAP may define a known/core URI forresource discovery.

The announced-to SCL may propagate the announced resource to other SCLsthat it is connected to. The Announced-to SCL may take parts of theattributes and propagate a new simplified Announced Resource to otherSCLs.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram to announce resources.Referring to FIG. 5, the SCL-1 or application, (e.g., issuer), maycommunicate a request to announce to SCL-2 (e.g., local SCL/hostingSCL), where the resource may be stored (e.g., created). Thestorage/creation by SCL-2 may comprise storing/creating a representationof the actual resource; the representation may be referred to as anannounced resource (e.g., see FIG. 4). In response to the communication,SCL-2 may be triggered to announce its resource (e.g., the announcedresource), which may include sending an announce resource communicationto SCL-3 (e.g., announced-to SCL). SCL-3 may store (e.g., create) theannounced resource. Responses may be communicated as shown in FIG. 5.

An announced resource may be accessed. For example, an issuer may be anentity that wants to access the announced resource. The issuer maycompose a request message to its local (registration) SCL, asking for aresource. The request may comprise one or more SearchStrings. The LocalSCL may or may not be the announced-to SCL; it may or may not have theinformation for the requested resource. If the Local SCL is not theannounced-to SCL, it may propagate the request to other SCLs that it isconnected to until it reaches the announced-to SCL. According to anembodiment, to reduce extra load to the network and limit the hops ofsuch request, the access resource request may indicate a maximum numberof SCLs or a limit number of hops may be pre-configured at differententities.

The announced-to SCL may check the access rights of the issuer, and ifit is not allowed to access the announced resource, the announced-to SCLmay return a status code, for example, indicating access denied. If theissuer is allowed to access the announced resource, the announced-to SCLmay provide access, e.g., using one of the following examples.

In a synchronous way, the Announced-to SCL may forward the accessrequest to the Hosting SCL. One use case for the synchronous way is thatthe URI of an actual resource may be invisible to the issuer, so theannounced-to SCL may not return the URI back to the issuer. Instead, theannounced-to SCL may need to perform the retrieve action on behalf ofthe issuer and return the actual content of the resource to the issuer.In an asynchronous way, the Announced-to SCL may return the URI of theannounced resource to the issuer and the issuer may query themaster/original resource from the Hosting SCL.

If the Hosting SCL receives a request to access the actual resource, theHosting SCL may check the access right of the issuers, and if permitted,the Hosting SCL may send a response with success status. If notpermitted, it may return access denied (e.g., via a status code).

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram to access announcedresources in a synchronous manner. Referring to FIG. 6, the SCL-1 orapplication, (e.g., issuer), may send a communication to access aresource to the SCL-2 (e.g., local SCL). In response, the SCL-2 maycheck the request and may check a next SCL if it does not have theresource. In such a case, SCL-2 may send a communication to access theresource to the SCL-3 (e.g., announced-to SCL). If SCL-3 has theannounced resource, it may send an access resource communication to theSCL-4 (e.g., hosting SCL). The hosting SCL may check access rights, andif permitted, it may accesses the resource and respond with a successindication. Otherwise, the hosting SCL may respond with an error.Responses may be communicated as shown.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram to access announcedresources in a asynchronous manner. Referring to FIG. 7, the SCL-1 orapplication, (e.g., issuer), may send a communication to access aresource to SCL-2 (e.g., local SCL). In response, SCL-2 may check therequest and may check a next SCL if it does not have the resource. Inthis case, SCL-2 may send a communication to access the resource toSCL-3 (e.g., announced-to SCL). In response to the communication and adetermination that SCL-3 has the announced resource, SCL-3 may respondwith the resource URI, wherein response messages indicating the resourceURI may be communicated to SCL-2 and SCL-1. If SCL-1 decides to retrievethe resource from the hosting SCL, it may use the resource URI to sendan access resource message to SCL-4 (e.g., hosting SCL). In response,the hosting SCL may check access rights, and if permitted, it may accessthe resource and respond with a success indication. Otherwise, thehosting SCL may respond with an error. A response can be communicated toSCL-1 as shown.

An announced resource may be de-announced. De-announce may be implicit,e.g., if the announced resource has an expiration time. The issuer mayrequest to de-announce previously announced resources. The trigger forde-announce may be, for example, either that a resource does not existanymore in the Hosting SCL or because the issuer of the announceprocedure (e.g., Hosting SCL or an application) does not want toannounce its resource(s) any longer.

Due to triggers from the issuer, the hosting SCL may decide tode-announce a previously announced resource. The hosting SCL may be theissuer itself. The hosting SCL may send a “de-announce” request messageto the announced-to SCL to “de-announce” one or multiple resources. Inthe de-announce request, the hosting SCL may indicate one or multipleannounced resources. Each announced resource may be indicated by anidentifier. Upon receiving a de-announce message, the announced-to SCLmay delete the announced resource, and may send a response with thestatus of the deletion to the hosting SCL. If the announced-to SCLpropagated the announced resource to other SCLs, it may also propagatethe de-announce request to de-announce the resources.

In accordance with an embodiment, FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flowdiagram to de-announce resources. Referring to FIG. 8, the SCL-1 orapplication, (e.g., issuer), may send a communication to de-announce toSCL-2 (e.g., local SCL). If SLC-2 has the resource, in response SCL-2may trigger to de-announce the requested resource and send a de-announcecommunication to SCL-3 (e.g., announced-to SCL). In response, SCL-3 maydelete the announced resource from the issuer. A response may becommunicated to SCL-1 as shown.

A structure and/or rules may be associated with announce/de-announce.Resources with a searchString attribute may have the ability to beannounced. For each resource that may be announced, an attribute maydefine whether the resource should be announced or not. If it can beannounced, it may be associated with the rules about how to announce(e.g., lifetime, refreshment, etc.).

Each resource that is announced may require information related to howthe SCL hosting this resource (e.g., Hosting SCL) is to manage theannouncement, e.g., announce rules. This information may be included ina list of attribute(s) related to the resource, a data structure relatedto the resource that comprises the list of attributes, in a sub-resourceof the resource, in some combination of these, etc.

Announcement information may be included in a list attributes tied tothe application resource. For example, Table 1 below shows exampleattributes of resources. The symbol “*” indicates announcementattributes.

Below is an example of announcement information related to an“application” resource. A similar format may apply to other resourcetypes: “group” resources, “Container” resources, “accessRights”resources, etc.

TABLE 1 Attributes of Resources <application> AttributeNameMandatory/Optional Type Description applicationStatus M RW May defaultto ONLINE if created via the API. expirationTime M RW This may representthe expiration time of the resource if the applicationStatus isNOT_REGISTERED, in other cases it may represent the expiration time ofthe registration. If the SCL does not refresh its registration beforethat time, the applicationStatus may return to NOT_REGISTERED or,depending on server policy, the resource is deleted. accessRightID O RWsearchStrings M RW creationTime M RO lastModifiedTime M RO memberOf M ROannouncedTo O RO This may define where the current resource has beenannounced to. announcibility M RW Used to activate/deactivateannouncement. A value “Yes” (or True) means it may be announced; “No”(or False) means it may not be announced. announceTo M RW An applicationwhich created the resource or the hosting SCL may provide thedestination SCLs where the resource to be announced to may be found. Thedestinations may be IDs of specific SCLs (e.g. SCL1, SCL2), or may bedomain types (e.g. a smartMeter type, or any nodes belong to company X,etc.). The attribute may be set to “ALL” or “BEST EFFORT”. If set to“ALL”, the SCL hosting this resource may announce to the SCLs to whichit has the rights. If set to “BEST EFFORT”, the SCL hosting thisresource may decide who to announce to. This attribute may also bedefined as OPTIONAL. If so, a default behaviour may be assumed if theattribute is not included when the resource is created or updated (forexample, announce to “ALL” or announce to “BEST EFFORT”). anncLifeTime MRW May define the expiration time of an announced-to resourcerefreshInterval O RW If the announced-to resource has an anncLifeTimewhich is not “valid till deannounced”, a “refresh” interval may bedefined. Retry to announce again When searchString in the announced-toresource The SCL hosting this resource may periodically refresh theannounced resource. confirmable M RW May define if a confirmationmessage is required for the announcement. The attribute may be definedas OPTIONAL. If the attribute is not included when the resource iscreated or updated, a default behaviour may be assumed (for example,always confirm or never confirm). propagation O RW Optional flag maydenote whether the announcement can be propagated by the announced-toSCL to additional SCLs. propagationCount M RW Mandatory if propagationis allowed - otherwise may not be needed. The number of hops theannouncement can be propagated. Each time an SCL propagates a resource,it creates an announced resource with a decremented (by one)propagationCount. propogatedTo M RO Mandatory if propagation isallowed - otherwise may not be needed. List of SCLs that have propagatedthe announcement.

In the case that the issuer is an application, attributes listed asmandatory above may be optional, and, a final decision may be left tothe Hosting SCL. The Hosting SCL may execute announce rules defined bythe application that created the original resource. If the rules are notdefined by the application (e.g., an application may not care about howits resources are to be announced), the Hosting SCL may complete therules defined as mandatory fields in the above table.

The announcement information may be included as a sub-resource to theapplication resource, e.g., as shown below. The symbol “*” indicatesannouncement attributes.

TABLE 2 Resources <application> Mandatory/ subResource OptionalMultiplicity Description containers M 1 May include local containerscreated by the parent application. groups M 1 May include local groupscreated by the parent application. accessRights M 1 May include localaccessRights created by the parent application. accessStatus M 1subscriptions M 1 announceRules O 1 This sub-resource may be used as aflag to indicate if the parent resource is to be announced. If present,the announcement may follow the rules specified by the announceRulessub-resource attributes.

TABLE 3 Attributes Sub-Resource announceRules of Resources <application>AttributeName Mandatory/Optional Type Description announcibility M RWMay be used to activate/deactivate announcement. A value “Yes” (or True)means it can be announced; “No” (or False) means it cannot be announced.announceTo M RW An application that created the resource or the hostingSCL provide the destination SCLs where the resource to be announced tomay be found. The destinations can be IDs of specific SCLs (e.g. SCL1,SCL2), or can be domain types (e.g. any smartMeter type, or any nodesbelong to company X). The attribute may be set to “ALL” or “BESTEFFORT”. If set to “ALL”, the SCL hosting this resource may announce tothe SCLs to which it has the rights. If set to “BEST EFFORT”, the SCLhosting this resource may decide who to announce to. This attribute mayalso be defined as OPTIONAL. If so, a default behaviour may be assumedif the attribute is not included when the resource is created or updated(for example, announce to “ALL” or announce to “BEST EFFORT”)anncLifeTime M RW May defines the expiration time of an announced-toresource refreshInterval O RW If the announced-to resource has ananncLifeTime which is not “valid till deannounced”, a “refresh” intervalmay be defined. Retry to announce again When searchString in theannounced-to resource The SCL hosting this resource may periodicallyrefresh the announced resource. confirmable M RW May define if aconfirmation message is required for the announcement. Alternatively,the attribute may be defined as OPTIONAL. If the attribute is notincluded when the resource is created or updated, a default behaviourmay be assumed (for instance always confirm or never confirm)propagation O RW Optional flag may denote whether the announcement canbe propagated by the announced-to SCL to additional SCLs.propagationCount M RW Mandatory if propagation is allowed - otherwisemay not be needed. The number of hops the announcement can bepropagated. Each time an SCL propagates a resource, it creates anannounced resource with a decremented (by one) propagationCount.propogatedTo M RO Mandatory if propagation is allowed - otherwise maynot be needed. List of SCLs that have propagated the announcement.

A structure may be provided for storing announced-to resources. Forexample, FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary resource structure to store anannounced application resource located at:<sclBase>/scls/scl/applications/applicationAnnc.

Announced-to resources may be stored under the sclBase. A purpose ofannounce may be for resource discovery. Having the announced resourcesunder a centralized place may optimize resource discovery. For example,a GET request for <sclBase1>./announcedTo may retrieve the announcedresources (e.g., all announced resources). If the requestor needs to getany specific announced-to resource, they may be stored under differenttypes Announced-to resources may have search string attributes that maybe used to find certain resources. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplaryresource structure to store announced-to resources. Referring to FIG.10, an announced-to resource from Application 1 may be retrieved from<sclBase1>/announcedTo/applicationAnnc/application1Annc.

Attributes for announced-to resources may be provided. An announcedresource may comprise a link back to the original resource (e.g., seeFIG. 4) as well as searchStrings that may assist discovery of theoriginal resource. The announced resource may include additionalattributes, e.g., as indicated by the symbol (“*”) shown in thefollowing table. In cases where propagation is permitted, announcementattributes of the original resource may be included in the announcedresource.

TABLE 4 AttributeName Mandatory/Optional Type Description link M WO Thereference to the resource that is announced here accessRightID O RW Sameas the accessRightId of the announced resource (indicated by the link)searchStrings M RW Same as the searchStrings of the announced resource(indicated by the link) expirationTime M RW The expiration time of theannounced resource - may be different from the original resource.announcedTo M RO Mandatory if propagation is allowed - otherwise may notbe needed. List of the SCLS where this resource announcement ispropagated propagation O RW Optional flag may denote whether theannouncement can be propagated by the announced-to SCL to additionalSCLs. propagationCount M RW Mandatory if propagation is allowed -otherwise may not be needed. The number of hops the announcement can bepropagated. Each time an SCL propagates a resource, it creates anannounced resource with a decremented (by one) propagationCount.

Updates on Announce/Deannounce may be provided. Procedures to announceresources may be used to announce a resource to the potentialAnnounced-to SCLs, and may be split between interaction on the mIa/dIaand interaction on the mid. A resource that has a searchString and canbe addressed by an URI may be announced. An SCL may announce a resourceto SCLs to which it has registered and which are able to accept theannouncement request.

Procedures to Announce on dIa/mIa may be provided that may specify anissuer as being an application (DA, GA, NA) that may request to announcea resource to other SCLs by changing the appropriate attributes of thisresource. The trigger of the announce procedure may be a registration ofthe Issuer to its Local SCL, the creation of a new resource(s) on theLocal SCL, the update of a resource(s) on the Local SCL, and the like.

The issuer may provide an announce attribute list detailing the type ofannouncement it is requesting, if any. The attribute list may indicateone or more of the following: the lifetime of the announced resource;the scope of the announcement (e.g., if the announcement is to be madeto specific SCLs, or if this decision is left to the local SCL); whetherthe announce operation needs to be confirmed to the issuer; orannouncement enabled (e.g., either ACTIVE or INACTIVE), which may allowthe attribute list to be populated, but without performing theannouncement. The attribute list may be provided by an application, forexample: at registration, and, applicable to the resources created bythe issuer on its Local SCL; and/or for each resource created by theissuer on the Local SCL.

The issuer may modify the announce attribute list using an UPDATE to theresource. The attribute list for announce may require changes to theresource structure. The resource structure may include fields mentionedabove in addition to its current definition. The “announcedTo” attributemay be distributed under a specific sub-resource: application, group,container, access rights, etc.

A local SCL may validate the received request. The local SCL may triggeran Announce on mId procedure, in the instance when the issuer isauthorized to perform the received request according to theaccessRights. The Local SCL may return a generic response.

Procedures to Announce on mId may be provided that may specify a hostingSCL. Based on an announce attribute list, the Hosting SCL may announce aresource to the Announced-to SCL on mId using CREATE. The Hosting SCLmay form a representation of the resource and may send an “announceresource” request to the Announced-to SCL that may include thisrepresentation, the identity of the Hosting SCL, the search strings, theexpiration time, and the like. The Hosting SCL may be able to announcethe same resource to multiple SCLs. Unless specified in the announceattribute list, the Hosting SCL may decide to which SCLs to announce to.

An Announced-to SCL may validate the received request and may create anannounced resource with the specified attributes. Creation may beallowed in the instance where the Hosting SCL is authorized to create achild resource according to the accessRight defined. If the creation issuccessful, the Announced-to SCL may return a successful response to theHosting SCL, which may include an identifier (e.g., URI) of the createdAnnounced Resource. If the creation is not successful, the Announced-toSCL may return an appropriate error message. Generic responses may beprovided.

There may be alternatives for the Response message as follows. When theissuer is an application and it does not indicate to which SCLs toannounce to, the Hosting SCL may send a response to the Issuer uponreceiving the request, indicating that the request is accepted by theHosting SCL. The Hosting SCL may decide when and to which SCLs toannounce to. When the issuer is an application and it indicates to whichSCLs to announce to, the Hosing SCL may respond after it has completedannouncing the resource, thereby providing the issuer an indication ofthe status of the announced resources (e.g., as shown in FIG. 11).

Multiple confirmations may be handled in case of failure by announcementto K SCLs. A timer may start and wait for the confirmations. At timerexpiry, the confirmations may be combined into a single response and/orannouncements may be acknowledged separately. For failed announcements,a hosting SCL may continue to try to announce periodically. A hostingSCL may send back a NACK and have the application decide a next courseof action. This may be based on some threshold (or percentage ofsuccessful announcements) or some prioritized list of announcements(e.g., if one SCL is more important to announce to). The announcerequest may indicate that no confirmation is required, in which case aresponse may not need to be sent. In the case that the issuer may wantto know to which SCLs the resource is announced to, it may subscribe tothe announce event.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary call flow to announce resources.Referring to FIG. 11, an application may issue a request to announce toSCL-2, which may be a local SCL and/or a hosting SCL. The resource maybe stored at SCL-2. A response may be provided to the application. Inresponse, SCL-2 may be triggered to announce the resource and send anannounce resource message to SCL-3, which may respond as shown.

There may be scenarios in which an announced resource may need to bepropagated to assist resource discovery. For example, FIG. 12illustrates an exemplary diagram of a use case to propagate an announcedresource. Referring to FIG. 12, G-SCL1 is the Local SCL (e.g.,registration SCL) for D′ type device called D′2 and the Hosting SCL forDA2. G-SCL1 may announce the resource of DA2 to N-SCL so N-SCL may bethe first announced-to SCL. N-SCL may propagate the announced resourceto G-SCL2 (which may assume that G-SCL2 is registered to N-SCL). SinceN-SCL is the core, it may have good knowledge regarding access right andsecurity and about to whom it can propagate. G-SCL2 may then become thesecond announced-to SCL. With this mechanism, DA3 may discover aresource in G-SCL1. If the above mechanism is agreed, the following maybe included in the announce procedure.

The Announced-to SCL may propagate an Announced Resource to other SCLsthat it is connected to. If permitted, the Announced-to SCL maypropagate the Announced Resource to other SCLs. The Announced-to SCL maytake a portion of the attributes of an Announced Resource and propagatea simplified announced resource. To avoid loop creation of announcedresources, the announced resource may have an attribute that includes alist of “announced-to SCLs.”

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary call flow for propagating an announcedresource. The Issuer (e.g., DA2) may request to announce, which maytrigger G-SCL1 to announce the resource. N-SCL may create the announcedresource and propagate the announced resource as shown.

Procedures to update announced resources may be provided, which mayupdate a previously announced resource. The update may occur on the mIdinterface, or it may involve the dIa/mIa interface when a change in theoriginal resource results in a change of the announced resource.

Procedures to update announced resources on dIa/mIa may be provided thatmay specify that when an application requests changes in its createdresource on the Local SCL (Hosting SCL), this may trigger the HostingSCL to update an announced resource. This update may be needed when thesearchStrings, accessRightID, or URI of the original resource changes.For example, there may be a content change in the original resource, andthis may cause a change of searchStrings in an announced resource.

Procedures to update announced resources on mId may be provided that mayspecify that an issuer (Hosting SCLs) may compose a request message toupdate an announced resource using the UPDATE verb on the mId interface.The Hosting SCL that announced the resource previously may need to bethe entity that updates the announced resource.

An Announced-to SCL may update the announced resource according to therequest. If the update of the announced resource succeeded, it mayreturn the success code to the Issuer (Hosting SCL). Otherwise, it mayreturn an error code.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary call flow diagram to update anannounced resource. In the example of FIG. 14, the Issuer may be theHosting SCL, and, actions taken are as shown.

Procedures to De-Announce Resources may be provided that may specify tode-announce a previously announced resource. De-announce may be implicitif the Announced Resource has an expiration time. De-announcing apreviously announced resource may not have an impact on the originalresource.

Procedures to De-Announce on dIa/mIa may be provided that may specify anissuer (e.g., application DA, GA, NA) that may request to de-announcepreviously announced resources. Triggers of de-announce may be that theIssuer performed an update or delete to the original resource.

A Local SCL may validate the received request. It may trigger aDe-Announce on mId procedure, if the issuer is authorized to perform thereceived request according to the accessRights. The Local SCL may returna generic response to the Issuer. The Local SCL may respond to theDe-Announce request without waiting for the results from the mIdinterface. If De-Announce is triggered by the deletion of the originalresource, the Local SCL may use this way of response since the originalresource may not be available anymore after the mId De-Announce iscompleted. The Hosting SCL may respond after it has completedde-announcing the resource on mId, thereby providing the issuer anindication as to the status of the de-announced resources (e.g., asshown in FIG. 15).

Procedures to De-Announce on mId may be provided that may specify ahosting SCL that may decide to De-Announce a resource as a result of anexpiration of the announcement, or based on triggers from the Issuer(e.g., change of announce attribute list), etc. The Hosting SCL may senda “De-Announce” request message using DELETE over the mId interface, tothe Announced-to SCL to de-announce a previously announced resource. Inthe De-Announce request, the Hosting SCL may indicate one or multipleannounced resources. It may be the responsibility of the Hosting SCL todelete the announced resources.

An Announced-to SCL may validate the received request and it may deletethe announced resource(s) with the specified attributes. Deletion may beallowed if the Hosting SCL is authorized to delete a child resourceaccording to the accessRight defined. If the deletion is successful, theAnnounced-to SCL may return a successful response to the Hosting SCL. Ifthe deletion is not successful the Announced-to SCL may return anappropriate error message.

De-Announce may be implicit if the Announced Resource has an expirationtime. A response message may be sent to the Hosting SCL (announcing SCL)to indicate that the announced resource is de-announced. In a case whenthe Hosting SCL (announcing SCL) is not server capable, the subscriptionmechanism may be used.

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary call flow to de-announce resources. TheIssuer may request to de-announce a resource, which may trigger SCL-2 tode-announce the requested resource. SCL-2 may delete the resource andsend a de-announce resource request to SCL-3, which may delete theresource. Responses may be shown as indicated.

If it is agreed that an announced resource can be propagated, thefollowing procedure may be used: if the Announced-to SCL propagated theannounced resource to other SCLs, it may also propagate the De-announcerequest to De-announce the resources.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removabledisks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks,and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association withsoftware may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for usein a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A method for creation of an announced resource, themethod comprising: receiving, by a first entity, a request from anissuer to announce a resource to one or more service capability layers;creating an announced resource on the first entity, wherein theannounced resource comprises a search string and an identifier; sending,by the first entity, an announce resource request to a second entityover an mId interface; and receiving, in response to the announceresource request, a first response from the second entity over the mIdinterface indicating that the second entity created the announcedresource.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the issuer is one of aservice capability layer or an application.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the second entity has registered with the first entity.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein receiving the request to announce theresource comprises receiving an attribute, wherein the attribute ischangeable to indicate the request.
 19. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising determining that the second entity is an entity to announceto based on accessibility of the resource.
 20. The method of claim 17,wherein the first entity posts the announced resource to the secondentity under a known URI.
 21. The method of claim 15, further comprisingsending a second response to the issuer indicating that the secondentity created the announced resource.
 22. A first entity comprising: aprocessor configured to: receive a request from an issuer to announce aresource to one or more service capability layers; create an announcedresource, wherein the announced resource comprises a search string andan identifier; send an announce resource request to a second entity overan mId interface; and receive, in response to the announce resourcerequest, a first response from the second entity over the mId interfaceindicating that the second entity created the announced resource. 23.The first entity of claim 22, wherein the issuer is one of a servicecapability layer or an application.
 24. The first entity of claim 22,wherein the second entity has registered with the first entity.
 25. Thefirst entity of claim 8, wherein receiving the request to announce theresource comprises receiving an attribute, wherein the attribute ischangeable to indicate the request.
 26. The first entity of claim 22,wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the secondentity is an entity to announce to based on accessibility of theresource.
 27. The first entity of claim 24, wherein the first entityposts the announced resource to the second entity under a known URI. 28.The first entity of claim 22, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to send a second response to the issuer indicating that thesecond entity created the announced resource.